Frankenmuth River Place

A very cool must see when visiting Frankenmuth. So many little shops with awesome things and at very decent prices. However if you go in the winter, you won’t be able to do the boat tour or anything so I recommend summer months to visit.

It’s a cute little bavarian village like shopping area with small cute boutique shops including a toy shop, cupcake shop, popcorn shop, taffy and fudge shop, etc. Good place to just walk around and take in the scenery and walk off the all you can eat chicken dinner which is what we didn’t do… we did the opposite. Bad choice…

River place shops is a window shopper, small town,
Main street cobblestone shopping delight!
The many shops here are quite eclectic, there are of course the boutique type clothing shops that are a bit stiff and overpriced but there’s also so much more.
There is a day spa, a distillery: Grand Traverse distillery, specializing in Michigan, made liquors and wines, free samples to boot.
A fudge shop, a crêpe café, a popcorn store as well as my favorite Great Lake Olive Oil Co. Specializing in gourmet olive oils and balsamic vinaigrettes, free samples as well. I was bummed they were out of my favorite vinegar it’s called Champagne. Omg it’s good.
There are so many great little shops: Enchanted garden, Funky skunk, Humor us and Woody’s to
name a few.
River place also sports a Ultimate Mirror Maze which is pretty cool as well as an arcade.
There are way to many cool spots to list them all; however you won’t be disappointed a great place to shop something for everyone and stuff you can’t find just anywhere. If in Frankenmuth, a must stop, fun for the whole family.

Frankenmuth and the River place shops are always the place to be if you want to step back in time and relax and enjoy old world style and a family friendly environment.
Abundant shops the carry everything from Stained glass, candles, wine, cheese, fudge, clothing for men and women, arcade for the kids or young adults of all ages and craft stores with unique items only found in Frankenmuth.
The walk over the bridge to river place is magical day or night and the smells as you walk from shop to shop bring you back to when you where a child.
Try this little hideaway the next time your in the area and I gaur enter you won’t be disappointed.

Look. I’m a born and bred Michigander but I’ve lived in Chicago long enough to know what a tourist trap is. River Place is a tourist trap. Oh yes, no way around that. And yet, I can’t help but to stop by every time I visit Michigan. There are specialty shops. Beads. A distillery. Crepes. Flip-​flops. Popcorn. Clothing. Jewelry. Party decorations. An arcade. Cupcakes. Did I mention the distillery? The one with chocolate vodka and mint julep shooters? Is that not enough to at least give the place a try?
And let’s not forget that there is always music playing. Slightly creepy at night, but not without its charm.
I try to make a Frankenmuth stop every time I’m in the mitten and rarely am I disappointed. As for the River Place itself, I’d suggest coming on a weekday. The crowds can get insane on the weekends, especially since they’re usually having events.

My review is for the Bakery which is part of the Bavarian Inn. After a wonderful chicken dinner, our last stop was the bakery for take home goods. The strudel’s had caught my wife’s eye as we entered, so on the way out she had to stop and get one. Never works that way, just buy one item.
We bought two strudels, cherry and apple, along with a chocolate éclair.
The éclair was fantastic. We shared it last night and both thought we should have bought two.
As good as the éclair was, the strudels were on the other end of the spectrum. The pastry was not light and crispy as you would expect in a good strudel — it was doughy and tough. We needed a good serrated knife to cut them. The cherry and apple fillings were sort of glob like, sweet, with no cherry or apple taste. Like what you would get out of a can of cheap pie filling that had been kept too long on the shelf — beyond it’s expiration date.
We also bought two loaves of stolen bread — which we haven’t tried yet but are hoping is as good as what we had in the Bavarian Inn.
Had the éclair not been as good as it was, I would have given the bakery a one star rating for the strudels. Maybe we were there on a bad day — whatever — yesterday was the last time we stop and buy in the bakery and have to take a chance on good or bad product.

A little themed mall area right off the main drag in downtown Frankenmuth. It doesn’t contain the normal ‘mall’ stores, but I get a very corporate feeling being here. There are lots of little bakeries, and a few really fun attractions (like a mirror maze and a room full of things to bounce on), and all sorts of stores from Tervis mugs to beads.
The did have a nice Scarecrow Festival the few weekends before Halloween with activities like a pumpkin catapult, pumpkin bowling, pumpkin painting, and a magic show.
Check out the used book store when you come. they have great deals!

We visited for the last day of Okoberfest in Frankenmuth. Oh I can’t wait to go back! All the cute specialty shops, neat things to look at, and sitting right on the river! We had a great time strolling with hot chocolate and window shopping. The old Bavarian looking complex was something out of Disneyland. A little surreal but true to form. I grew up in Germany and this little town and complex of shops are a great representation of small German towns.
Such a fun place. I can’t wait to go back.

A great shopping center with a plethora of small, independently-​owned clothing stores, pet supply stores, bakeries, candy stores, etc. The mirror maze was pretty neat, too.
The property is very clean and well-​maintained.
You should definitely stop here and walk around for awhile if you’re in Frankenmuth!

This is a cute shopping area. It has independently owned shops with a few chain ones. It is pet friendly, has great scenery and some good photo opportunities. The atmosphere is very laid back except at the height of the tourist season, then it can get a bit rowdy. But all in all, it is a good place to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon.

We own two business in the Frankenmuth River Place Shops (SugarHigh Bakery & SugarRush Sweets & Treats) and we LOVE it here. I can’t imagine being anywhere else! The atmosphere is great, and our landlords are awesome! When we first opened up there were some vacancies due to the recession, but now the shops are nearly completely full (I believe there is only a single vacancy or two) and there are a lot of independent shops to check out! Also, the sidewalks are heated so you don’t ever have to worry about ice or snow. It is a pet friendly complex so a great place to take them for a stroll. If you are in town, be sure to visit the River Place Shops in addition to down town :)

A bunch of tacky shops, kinda feels the opposite of the small town feel of the shops on main. They have a decent mirror maze, a couple years ago they had a year round animatronic haunted house that was kinda cool, sadly it’s not there anymore. Worth checking out once, but I would rather waste more time in Bronner’s or Birch Run.

Nice upscale niche shops. It is within walking distance to Zehnder’s and Bavarian Inn. They participate in the ice sculptures event at Winter Fest. This place is wheelchair accessible.

Ok place. Upscale and niche shops. A few vacancies for some of the units. Mostly a place for tourists.

This is an area of small specialty shops and restaurants (see map). We went there to get a ride on the Bavarian Belle. It is close to Frankenmuth’s two biggest restaurants Zehnder’s & Bavarian Inn. It’s a nice place, but not the kind of shopping we were looking for.